When Glengarnock Ironworks Bowling and Community Club wanted to decarbonise the heat used in their pavilion, the age and unique requirements of the building was a challenge. For decades, the heating and hot water in the pavilion at Glengarnock Ironworks Bowling and Community Club had been powered by a Vaillant gas boiler. With the boiler nearing the end of its life and the club keen to reduce its carbon footprint and energy bill, it started looking at ways to make the building’s heating more sustainable.

The club sought advice from Zero Waste Scotland, a not-for-profit environmental organisation set-up to help accelerate resource efficiencies for Scottish SME’s. It carried out a virtual survey of the club’s heating requirements, where it was suggested an air source heat pump (ASHP) in tandem with a gas boiler could be the most effective solution to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

The club called upon MCA Renewables, a renewable energy consultancy and installer business, To make some ‘on the ground’ estimates for installing a new low carbon heating system

After undertaking an assessment of the bowling club’s requirements, MCA Renewables approached Vaillant with the heat loss calculations and information about this project, following which Vaillant recommended a hybrid system using the award winning aroTHERM plus unit.

Additionally, the Vaillant design team checked all the calculations to make sure that the system designed met the pavilion’s heat demands, taking into consideration the drop temperatures during the coldest months in Scotland.

As the clubhouse is mainly used in the summer months, during this time the air source heat pump would be able to provide all the bowling club’s heating and hot water demand. With the air source heat pump meeting 80% of the building’s peak heat requirements, the club’s fossil fuel use was reduced by 75%. During cold winter spells, the back-up boiler offers a cost?effective way to support the heat pump in meeting the club’s additional heating and hot water demands.

A Vaillant heat exchanger unit was installed at the club which allows the connected glycol (anti-freeze) circuit to be separated from the main heating circuit, reducing the amount of glycol that is needed. The heat exchanger will also prevent the contamination of glycol circuits in the future, if the club needs to remove, drain or re-fill any radiators.

To provide the heat needed to defrost the heat pump, without drawing energy away from heating the pavilion, a Vaillant 45 litre buffer tank was also installed.

With the new hybrid system having been in place for a few months, club members have been delighted with the efficiency it has delivered for them so far. What’s more, they expect to see financial savings during the winter months through reduced energy bills.

“The customer service and expertise from Vaillant and MCA Renewables was second-to-none. The installation team worked with us closely and helped to time the project delivery around the funding schedule. The installation was well-managed and completed within a week, which meant disruption was kept to an absolute minimum.

“Even better, we have reduced our reliance on fossil fuels by 75%, which will play a huge part in helping us lessen our impact on the planet too.”